On Connecting School and Work. EQW Policy Statement.

Research has confirmed that few U.S. employers see schools as effective partners in their search for skilled workers. The growing disconnection between the nation's schools and business sector is threatening to undermine the educational quality of the U.S. work force. Educators and businesses must, therefore, join forces to develop initiatives that do not require either new funds or additional government agencies but that instead rely on the market to create the incentives for firms to invest in human and physical capital. In addition, a way must be found to lower the costs to employers of screening and hiring new workers. Two strategies appear to be promising ways of strengthening the links between the education and business sectors: (1) making grades and the reputation of a job applicant's school important criteria when hiring young workers and (2) creating internship programs. Studies have shown that businesses using school grades as screening mechanisms in the hiring process have more stable work forces and are more likely to rate their employees as fully proficient in their jobs. Other studies have established that businesses offering internship/apprenticeship programs have better educated work forces and are more likely to use high-performance work systems. (MN)